first quarter

noun Astronomy.

the instant, approximately one week after a new moon, when one half of the moon's disk is illuminated by the sun.

Origin of first quarter

First recorded in 1905–10

Words nearby first quarter

first person, first point of aries, first position, first post, first principle, first quarter, first quartile, first reader, first reading, first refusal, first reich

Example sentences from the Web for first quarter

British Dictionary definitions for first quarter

first quarter

noun

one of the four principal phases of the moon, occurring between new moon and full moon, when half of the lighted surface is visible from earth Compare last quarter